As
I sit here and write this on Thanksgiving I feel thankful, but I
admit I am too complacent, too much of the time.

With
so much daily hassle involved in our lives, it’s easy to lose track
of how some of the simplest gestures can make a big difference in
someone’s life. Whether it’s holding a door open for someone as
you enter or leave a building, the simple gesture of saying “good
morning” to someone at a business you frequent, a heartfelt “Thank
you” to one’s effort, be it big or small. These all matter,
especially to folks who may be struggling day-to-day or with a family
crisis.

As
this pertains to racing at our local short tracks, where can I start?
Management, track personnel, competitors, all seem to be taking each
other for granted and the results are clearly visible at many tracks.

Clearly
one of my big gripes the last dozen or more years are tracks and
groups not having their rules packages set at the end of the season
for the next year. This is one of the biggest forms of “complacency”
in short track racing.

In
my opinion there are 3 reasons for this:

1.
Laziness (just putting it off)

2.
Waiting to see if any manufactures are willing to “pay a little
extra” to have management mandate their particular product

3.
My least popular is when management works hand-in-hand with certain
competitors on end-of-year changes that ultimately favor those
competitors and lead to lower car counts.

The
fix for this really isn’t that hard in my opinion. Promoters - talk
to the car owners; “the average car owner” not just the top 2 or
3. See what they like or dislike about the current rules package. Was
the car count up or down during the year? If any major changes are
planned, let owners know before the end of the current season… my
god it isn’t rocket science.

Just
because someone wants to put a few bucks in your pocket to mandate
their product, will the owners support this? Or just park their car
because they have to run something that “costs them more” –
think about it. Most track owners want to cry “the bad economy”
is why there’s less cars… could it be you changed one or more of
your rules that now they need to decide if the extra $$$ go towards
the race car or the home front? A lot of cars are just sitting
because of this.

Track
personnel… they can really make or break the atmosphere at any
track. The good ones make even a bad track, or group, run like a
well-oiled machine… the problem is they also seem to be the 1st
ones the promoter kicks to the curb. They put their heart and soul
into it, only to take the fall when one bad thing happens. Yes some
“officials” are there just for the power trip and the extra $$$
in their pocket – too bad you put all this time, effort and $$$
into your car, you’re on my shit list this week. Maybe next time
you, as an official, can cut a team a little slack – think about
how they busted their ass at their job during the week, as well as on
their car.

Competitors,
owners, and teams… during the year have a tendency to bitch, moan,
and complain, but when it comes down to it, they just crawl back into
their trailers and out of site. Understand your division rules, make
sure you understand your track’s or group’s tech procedures, and
know the officials by name. This protects your investment (money &
time) in the sport.

But
also remember this, you are a customer as well as a competitor at the
track. If you’re not happy with something, go through the proper
channels to try to resolve things… bitching and fighting get you
no-where. If you still don’t like what’s going down just load up
and leave…period. No yelling, no fighting, just leave. You are a
customer! Treat it like you’re at a restaurant and the service is
bad, your food cold and there’s an overall “who cares”
attitude, you won’t go back… if you feel that way at the track
“DON’T GO BACK”.

Thanksgiving
is a day to be thankful and believe me, I am, through all the good
and bad. It’s a day to sit back enjoy and reflect with family and
friends, especially about the past year’s events and give hope to
the coming year.

In
the racing world, our “Thanksgiving Days”, more or less, are the
awards banquets. A time for all at the track to gather and celebrate
the teams’ and track’s accomplishments. To have a good time,
reflect, and ultimately start the momentum for next year’s season.
It motivates us to achieve more next year than this one, as we watch
the champions receive their awards.

Imagine
if everyone got complacent on Thanksgiving and had no celebration? No
meal, no family, no friends, no friendly chatter at the dinner table.
It becomes another day… and the family feeling and camaraderie
disappears.

A
few tracks and groups have gotten “complacent” on their Awards
Banquets, their Thanksgiving Day or night, which is the day of their
race track family gathering and season reflection and celebration.
It’s their day of saying “Thank You” and being “Thankful “to
their racing members and family. It’s the celebration that starts
the next year with hope.